Saint Junipero Serra

Discovery & Evangelization of America, 5th Centenary: Blessed Junipero Serra Scott 902 (1992) Miguel Serra (1713-1784) was born on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. When he became a Franciscan Friar at age 17, he took the name Junipero. He was ordained priest in 1738. He was named after one of St. Francis’ companions also named Junipero, which refers to the juniper tree. After teaching theology and philosophy, at his request, he was sent as a missionary to native peoples of North America in 1750. He walked the West Coast of North America from 1750 to 1784 and established 21 missions, converting and catechizing thousands of native peoples and teaching methods in agriculture. He defended Indian rights against exploitation by Spanish colonizers. His initial mission field included the San Gordo missions and later South-Central Mexico. When Spain began colonizing the area known as Upper California, he joined the expedition, establishing a mission at San Diego (1769) and then eight others from 1770-1782. Statue of Junípero Serra at the Mission San Juan Capistrano, California Photo by Bernard Gagnon From Wikimedia Commons, used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 1.0 Generic license His headquarters were in Carmel at Monterey. Other missions included San Antonio, San Gabriel, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Clara, and San Buenaventura. The mission at Carmel has been preserved and one room displays his austere bedroom, furniture, and simple items associated with mission life. Remembered as the "Apostle of California", Father Serra died in 1784 at Carmel. California. He was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015. In addition to the stamp shown at the top of the article, issued by Vatican City as part of the "Discovery and Evangelization of America" set in 1992, the United States issued an airmail stamp honoring Junipero Serra in 1985 (Scott C116). That stamp is not shown, but can be viewed by clicking on the National Postal Museum link in the References. Spain and Mexico have also released stamps in his honor. REFERENCES: Britannica.com, Saint Junipero Serra Dawn Marie Beutner, Saints: Becoming an Image of Christ Every Day in the Year Thomas I Crimando, Vatican Notes, Volume 40, Number 6, pp. 1&4, 1992, New Issues James C Hamilton, Vatican Notes, Volume 59, Number 349, pp. 11-13, 2011, An Atlas of Vatican City Cartophilately - Part II National Postal Museum, Junipero Serra